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Created November 2, 2018 09:54
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AutoComplete in .NET through the Windows Shell (provides more options than default implementation)
using System;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
/// <summary>
/// From: https://www.codeproject.com/Articles/3792/C-does-Shell-Part-4
/// Note: The UCOMIEnumString interface is deprecated in .NET as of 2018!
/// </summary>
public class AutoCompleteExt {
public static Guid CLSID_AutoComplete = new Guid("{00BB2763-6A77-11D0-A535-00C04FD7D062}");
private static object GetAutoComplete()
{
return Activator.CreateInstance(Type.GetTypeFromCLSID(CLSID_AutoComplete));
}
public static void Enable(IntPtr controlHandle, SourceCustomList items, AUTOCOMPLETEOPTIONS options) {
if (controlHandle == IntPtr.Zero)
return;
IAutoComplete2 iac = null;
try {
iac = (IAutoComplete2) GetAutoComplete();
int ret = iac.Init(controlHandle, items, "", "");
ret = iac.SetOptions(options);
ret = iac.Enable(true);
}
finally {
if (iac != null)
Marshal.ReleaseComObject(iac);
}
}
public static void Disable(IntPtr controlHandle) {
if (controlHandle == IntPtr.Zero)
return;
IAutoComplete2 iac = null;
try {
iac = (IAutoComplete2) GetAutoComplete();
iac.Enable(false);
}
finally {
if (iac != null)
Marshal.ReleaseComObject(iac);
}
}
}
/// <summary>
/// From https://www.pinvoke.net/default.aspx/Interfaces.IAutoComplete2
/// </summary>
[ComImport]
[InterfaceType(ComInterfaceType.InterfaceIsIUnknown)]
[Guid("EAC04BC0-3791-11D2-BB95-0060977B464C")]
public interface IAutoComplete2 {
[PreserveSig]
int Init(
// Handle to the window for the system edit control that is to
// have autocompletion enabled.
IntPtr hwndEdit,
// Pointer to the IUnknown interface of the string list object that
// is responsible for generating candidates for the completed
// string. The object must expose an IEnumString interface.
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.IUnknown)] object punkACL,
// Pointer to an optional null-terminated Unicode string that gives
// the registry path, including the value name, where the format
// string is stored as a REG_SZ value. The autocomplete object
// first looks for the path under HKEY_CURRENT_USER . If it fails,
// it then tries HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE . For a discussion of the
// format string, see the definition of pwszQuickComplete.
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPWStr)] string pwszRegKeyPath,
// Pointer to an optional string that specifies the format to be
// used if the user enters some text and presses CTRL+ENTER. Set
// this parameter to NULL to disable quick completion. Otherwise,
// the autocomplete object treats pwszQuickComplete as a sprintf
// format string, and the text in the edit box as its associated
// argument, to produce a new string. For example, set
// pwszQuickComplete to "http://www. %s.com/". When a user enters
// "MyURL" into the edit box and presses CTRL+ENTER, the text in
// the edit box is updated to "http://www.MyURL.com/".
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPWStr)] string pwszQuickComplete
);
// Enables or disables autocompletion.
[PreserveSig]
int Enable(bool value);
// Sets the current autocomplete options.
[PreserveSig]
int SetOptions(AUTOCOMPLETEOPTIONS dwFlag);
// Retrieves the current autocomplete options.
[PreserveSig]
int GetOptions(out AUTOCOMPLETEOPTIONS pdwFlag);
}
/// <summary>
/// Specifies values used by IAutoComplete2::GetOptions and
/// "IAutoComplete2.SetOptions" for options surrounding autocomplete.
/// </summary>
/// <remarks>
/// [AUTOCOMPLETEOPTIONS Enumerated Type ()]
/// http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb762479.aspx
/// </remarks>
[Flags]
public enum AUTOCOMPLETEOPTIONS {
/// <summary>Do not autocomplete.</summary>
ACO_NONE = 0x0000,
/// <summary>Enable the autosuggest drop-down list.</summary>
ACO_AUTOSUGGEST = 0x0001,
/// <summary>Enable autoappend.</summary>
ACO_AUTOAPPEND = 0x0002,
/// <summary>Add a search item to the list of
/// completed strings. When the user selects
/// this item, it launches a search engine.</summary>
ACO_SEARCH = 0x0004,
/// <summary>Do not match common prefixes, such as
/// "www." or "http://".</summary>
ACO_FILTERPREFIXES = 0x0008,
/// <summary>Use the TAB key to select an
/// item from the drop-down list.</summary>
ACO_USETAB = 0x0010,
/// <summary>Use the UP ARROW and DOWN ARROW keys to
/// display the autosuggest drop-down list.</summary>
ACO_UPDOWNKEYDROPSLIST = 0x0020,
/// <summary>Normal windows display text left-to-right
/// (LTR). Windows can be mirrored to display languages
/// such as Hebrew or Arabic that read right-to-left (RTL).
/// Typically, control text is displayed in the same
/// direction as the text in its parent window. If
/// ACO_RTLREADING is set, the text reads in the opposite
/// direction from the text in the parent window.</summary>
ACO_RTLREADING = 0x0040,
/// <summary>[Windows Vista and later]. If set, the
/// autocompleted suggestion is treated as a phrase
/// for search purposes. The suggestion, Microsoft
/// Office, would be treated as "Microsoft Office"
/// (where both Microsoft AND Office must appear in
/// the search results).</summary>
ACO_WORD_FILTER = 0x0080,
/// <summary>[Windows Vista and later]. Disable prefix
/// filtering when displaying the autosuggest dropdown.
/// Always display all suggestions.</summary>
ACO_NOPREFIXFILTERING = 0x0100
}
/// <summary>
/// Implements the https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/desktop/api/objidl/nn-objidl-ienumstring
/// interface for autoccomplete
/// </summary>
public class SourceCustomList : UCOMIEnumString {
public string[] StringList;
private int currentPosition = 0;
public int Next(
int celt, // Number of elements being requested.
string[] rgelt, // Array of size celt (or larger) of the
// elements of interest. The type of this
// parameter depends on the item being
// enumerated.
out int pceltFetched) // Pointer to the number of elements actually
// supplied in rgelt. The Caller can pass
// in NULL if celt is 1.
{
pceltFetched = 0;
while ((currentPosition <= StringList.Length-1) && (pceltFetched<celt))
{
rgelt[pceltFetched] = StringList[currentPosition];
pceltFetched++;
currentPosition++;
}
if (pceltFetched == celt)
return 0; // S_OK;
else
return 1; // S_FALSE;
}
/// <summary>
/// This method skips the next specified number of elements in the enumeration sequence.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="celt"></param>
/// <returns></returns>
public int Skip(
int celt) // Number of elements to be skipped.
{
currentPosition += celt;
if (currentPosition <= StringList.Length-1)
return 0;
else
return 1;
}
// This method resets the enumeration sequence to the beginning.
public Int32 Reset()
{
currentPosition = 0;
return 0;
}
// This method creates another enumerator that contains the same enumeration
// state as the current one. Using this function, a client can record a
// particular point in the enumeration sequence and return to that point at a
// later time. The new enumerator supports the same interface as the original one.
public void Clone(
out UCOMIEnumString ppenum) // Address of the IEnumString pointer
// variable that receives the interface
// pointer to the enumeration object. If
// the method is unsuccessful, the value
// of this output variable is undefined.
{
SourceCustomList clone = new SourceCustomList {
currentPosition = currentPosition,
StringList = (String[]) StringList.Clone()
};
ppenum = clone;
}
}
public void DisableAutoSuggest(TextBox tb) {
tb.AutoCompleteCustomSource = null;
AutoCompleteExt.Disable(tb.Handle);
}
public void EnableAutoSuggest(TextBox tb, string[] suggestions) {
// Create and assign the autocomplete source
// Try to enable a more advanced settings for AutoComplete via the WinShell interface
try {
var source = new SourceCustomList() {StringList = suggestions.ToArray()};
// For options descriptions see:
// https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/desktop/api/shldisp/ne-shldisp-_tagautocompleteoptions
var options = AUTOCOMPLETEOPTIONS.ACO_UPDOWNKEYDROPSLIST | AUTOCOMPLETEOPTIONS.ACO_USETAB |
AUTOCOMPLETEOPTIONS.ACO_AUTOAPPEND | AUTOCOMPLETEOPTIONS.ACO_AUTOSUGGEST;
AutoCompleteExt.Enable(tb.Handle, source, options);
}
catch (Exception) {
// Incase of an error, let's fall back to the default
var source = new AutoCompleteStringCollection();
source.AddRange(suggestions);
tb.AutoCompleteMode = AutoCompleteMode.SuggestAppend;
tb.AutoCompleteSource = AutoCompleteSource.CustomSource;
tb.AutoCompleteCustomSource = source;
}
}
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